Mission, Vision and Values

Aloha is how we live. Aloha is the essence of relationships in which each person is important to every other person for collective existence.  Some of the ways we act on this value are by creating a cooperative, supportive environment with individual advising, and emphasizing relationship building, connections between people and place, diverse knowledge systems, through group work and professional service.

ʻOhana is who we are. We are a diverse community dedicated to connecting people with information, and we respect the right of all views to be represented. We encourage diversity in our curriculum through core, elective and special topics courses, degree specializations, dual and concurrent degree programs, and coursework outside LIS to support individualized programs of study. We are active members of a range of research, professional and local communities, and we are responsive to their needs. We undertake research projects and coursework that engage the local community, and we stay connected with our ʻohana through collaboration, outreach, internships and practicums, alumni and professional organizations and regular communications.

Kuleana is what we do. We embrace our responsibility to educate the next generation of compassionate leaders in the information professions, who will discover, embrace and practice their own kuleana to preserve and perpetuate access to diverse cultural materials and ideas, and inspire others to embrace libraries, archives, information services and lifelong learning. Resources are precious, and we are responsible to make sure ours are directed to where they can do the most good. We offer a continuously evolving curriculum, implement the results of assessment into the program, encourage advocacy and outreach, conduct and publish research, and hold our students and ourselves to the highest professional standards.